Ask a BU Student (2011)

<p>Personally, I think the Warren rooms are a lot nicer. I lived in Warren my freshman year and stayed in West during orientation, and even though they are renovating West, they are still not that great. Overall, I prefer Warren. I didn’t have an issue with it being “unsocial.” There are 1800 people living there, and at least 40 on your floor–you will talk to a ton of people! I loved living there because it was so convenient. Yes, the walk to the gym/Agganis/parties can be rough, but it’s Boston, and you will walk a lot. Both standard double rooms are about the same size.</p>

<p>As far as West and Warren having lofted beds, the only beds in Warren that were lofted were the quads (what i lived in last year), which have now become triples and are no longer lofted as far as I know. In West, if you are in a triple i’m pretty sure they are lofted. Otherwise, in these two dorms you will have a standard bed on the ground. And if you are in a room with a lofted bed like a triple, I’d keep it that way–so much more space! </p>

<p>Welcome to BU and to COM! Both are awesome :)</p>

<p>@hlg2525: The tours show you the dorms in Towers (140 Baystate Road) and yes you can unloft them pretty easily. As far as your other questions I think shiningstar91 hit the mark but since I lived in Warren my freshman year I might be biased…</p>

<p>Hi, </p>

<p>I’ve currently applied for College of Arts and Sciences. I’m interested in Pre-law and BU states that although there isn’t a specific major for this, they have pre law programs.
Do you know how they are like? Is it like special individualized classes aside from your regular major?</p>

<p>Also is 1820 a good enough SAT score? I’m planning on taking the January SATs. They said they can’t guarantee that they’ll look at it, but they will if it arrives in a timely manner. </p>

<p>Thanks! (:</p>

<p>Someone from my school last year was admitted with a 1450/2400 SAT…1820 is good enough for BU. DW about it. focus on your school work!</p>

<p>suzzyxx-pre-law doesn’t have any special classes. it’s just a track for advising purposes. you can major in anything you want before going to law school.</p>

<p>How important are the subject tests? it says one can apply without them but it lowers their admission competitiveness… how much would it hurt?</p>

<p>Hey do you guys know of any deferred students that were accepted during RD? Any info would be great</p>

<p>I know BU has great study abroad programs, and I was wondering if anyone knew about how many credits one would take if they are doing study abroad? Thanks!</p>

<p>If you are doing study abroad, it depends on the program. Some of them are internship and classes based, so you’ll take a few classes for a certain amount of time, and then intern the rest. You’d have to check the study abroad website to figure out the amount of credits for your specific program! </p>

<p>Applefan9: I honestly have no idea about deferred students who were accepted during RD, sorry.</p>

<p>Hi I wondered if Fine Arts majors were more or less competitive, admissions-wise, than say, someone seeking a major in CAS?</p>

<p>Do kids party at all at BU? I know, of course, this should not be my number one priority for my college years, however, it is an important aspect of college. I’ve read that the university is pretty strict about underage drinking, so I was just wondering how that affects students.</p>

<p>widdle, I’d say that the criteria differs. CFA requires an audition or portfolio depending on what you intend to declare as your major on top of the standard BU application. Meanwhile, CAS or any other college within BU just has that standard application. Intratransfering within BU from CFA to CAS is much more of a plausible than switching from CAS to CFA though. So, if you really are considering going for something in CFA, I would apply into that school.</p>

<p>kat1234, BU isn’t a party school by any means. Still, there’s a large number of students on campus…and lots of other colleges nearby too. You’ll be able to find any type of social life that you want. On-campus partying isn’t a smart idea though especially in freshman dormitories. As a result, having on-campus parties isn’t popular since more often than not you get caught.</p>

<p>@kat1234: Freshman year, for people who party, is ALL ABOUT THE FRATS and BU has a lot of them. If you’re a girl, which I’m assuming you are, it’s super easy to get in and find out about them. Frats are fun your freshman year. After sophomore year, unless you’re close with frat boys, you’ll probably be partying in your friends’ apartments and whatnot. BU frat parties are kind of grimy… a lot of people packed into a hot/sweaty basement. If you join a sorority there will be a lot of mixers which are definitely a little more classier. Also, there are a lot of frats nearby like MIT and NEU. Also, there are club events, concerts etc.</p>

<p>applefan, our DD was deferred in ED and accepted to CGS in RD. She had a 3.3, a 2150 SAT, and good ECs. Her essays were good (according to several reliable sources) and she showed strong interest in BU through her essays. After her deferral, she read on this board a number of threads on what to do, and ended up sending a followup letter to BU and another deferred EA school outlining why she was interested, describing and including her good subject test scores, and highlighting her dditional community service. She also sent a letter of recommendation from her EC supervisor, which was not allowed in the Common App format, and I think was the tipping point as it was exceptional. </p>

<p>She finished her first semester at BU with straight As, great friends, and is delirously happy with Boston, BU, and especially CGS. She has been accepted to the England College Abroad program this semester. Take action and keep your fingers crossed!!!</p>

<p>To add to the post above, she has not found it to be a party school, but has already been to NYC with a group of friends and explored all kinds of spots in Boston. Be aware - JP Licks is a hotspot, and the meals in West are delicious, so make a plan to get in shape before and maintain it while you are there! She walks about 3 miles a day back and forth to classes, so make sure you have very comfortable shoes!</p>

<p>@shoot4moon thank you so much for the response. Did your daughter apply right into CGS or another school? Also could you go more in depth about her followup letter…What did she write about and was it emailed or snail mail? I was considering such a letter but im really lost in terms of what i should write , how long it should be etc. any help would be much appreciated</p>

<p>She applied to CAS, not CGS, and I honestly don’t know if she checked CGS as well on the app. As a matter of fact, we went back to the school after acceptance to see CGS in the flesh - we had read conflicting reports about it, and weren’t sure it was a good fit. It took 5 minutes of the dean’s talk to see what a great decision it would be, and she would tell you that it was the best thing that could have happened. Honestly, the CAS students looked like deers in headlights at some of the orientations, while CGS is warm, friendly, team oriented, and much more cohesive. Feel free to read my posts on this topic - I did a thorough job describing the program. There are great suggestions on deferral letters on this site - can’t recall a specific thread. Maybe in Dean’s area? Hers was a page with attached recommendation, second copy of new SAT scores, and a copy of her SAT II scores. It seems strange to me in retrospect that there is nowhere on the Common App to introduce outside recommendations - perhaps we missed it, but it was quite a hole in my mind. I would definitely start with that.</p>

<p>@ applefan (and others) Here’s a link to the thread I wrote after open house at CGS - although there are many threads discussing CGS, I didn’t see anything about the program itself. After observing our DD for a semester, I think it is excellent, and think the students are actually better prepared for the upper division work. The professors are outstanding.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-university/1129749-cgs-visit.html?highlight=cgs[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-university/1129749-cgs-visit.html?highlight=cgs&lt;/a&gt; Whoops - forgot the thread!</p>